Hello fellow learner,
Here is letter #4 from a learn-it-all.
My family has temporarily made an addition (until the snow melts) of three baby bunnies. I found them while walking my dogs abandoned in a parking lot. It has been a rewarding project to nourish these paralyzed babies back to life. I am grateful I was wearing my glasses to find them. Jellybean, Bunbun, and Thumper have brought more joy into my life these past few days. Featured below is the most energetic of the bunch, named Jellybean.
Some things I’ve learned through...
Doing
A few months ago, I pursued additional training to get upskilled as a producer. This means that I am a technical host for online courses to make them engaging online while taught to clients on WebEx and Zoom. I grew an interest to add more tools to my belt and become more indispensable. The enablement was a valuable process. It took place in the knick of time to support virtual deliveries since initially, most workshops were in-person. I’ve learned how to become agile, partner with different styles of facilitators and simplify instructions to teach novices how to use the tools. Previously, I never saw myself being tech-savvy. I am now signed up to learn Adobe Connect, and I am thrilled!
Writing
I wrote about being alone or lonely. No matter the combination of characteristics that form your distinctive character. All personalities, introverts and extroverts, are alike in feeling alone during COVID-19. For the rest of our life, we are guaranteed to be spending time with ourselves, so we might as well make it enjoyable. I explain the advantages of finding comfort in being alone along with actions from learnings of my own time spent intentionally by myself.
Watching
I watched Do schools kill creativity? by Sir Ken Robinson, who is an author, professor, and advisor on education. He believes that creativity in education is as important as literacy and that the fundamental principles in the system need to be reevaluated. University degrees are no longer worth anything due to academic inflation. Society’s view of intelligence is dominated by academic ability. It needs to be redefined as diverse, dynamic, and distinct.
Listening
I listened to Your Brain at Work podcast on How Do Humans Fit into the Future of Work? It was between NeuroLeadership’s Institute CEO David Rock and Lynda Gratton who is a co-author of the 100 Year Life. They shared ideas around how the future of work is based on the trends of technology, life longevity, and social structures. People need guidance to prepare for the change by becoming curious about themselves and the future. The human brain is ignited by curiosity so it needs to be maximized. Gratton explained the model below about the shift in how life is being redesigned.
Reading
I read a prose poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann created in 1927. The word itself is a plural noun, with the singular form desideratum, meaning “things wanted or needed.” The poem offers simplistic advice as a lesson written for his daughter. It speaks to how to live a happy and content life. My favorite lines are:
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
It is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Word to define
Creativity: the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination
- Sir Ken Robinson defines it to mean the process of having original ideas that have value. What does creativity mean for you?
Quote to inspire
“To create is to make something that has never existed before. There's nothing more vulnerable than that.” — Brené Brown
Question to ponder
Think back to when you’ve spent time pursuing a creative outlet. What brought you joy while creating?
I appreciate you reading this and would love if you contacted me directly via my email vermetjl@gmail.com with any ideas or feedback you’d like to share.
Stay safe and I’ll see you next weekend,
Jen
